Conveyor roller systems are used by the manufacturing and transport, as well as other, industries in the movement of goods. Conventional systems, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,618,418 and 4,279,377, employ rollers having gear teeth or sprockets affixed to an end for engaging a chain or a toothed belt coupled to a drive motor. However, inasmuch as these gear teeth or sprockets typically are swaged or welded onto an end of the roller, the cost of such a roller is increased over the cost of the roller alone. Moreover, since the sprockets or gear teeth protrude from the roller, any frame used to support the rollers must be designed with extra clearance to accommodate the protrusions. The use of the sprockets or gear teeth also serves as a limitation on the proximity with which rollers in a conveyor series may be spaced as a distance at least equal to the diametric extent of the sprocket or gear must be provided between each roller. Thus, there remains a continuing need for an improved roller and conveyor system that eliminates the increased cost and design problems associated with conventional gear-toothed or sprocketed rollers.